Adam Lambert: 'Queen rockers are classy and inspiring'

Singer Adam Lambert will always be grateful for the creative freedom he is given whenever he collaborates with legendary rock band Queen.

The 34-year-old has been working with the British rock gods since 2011, and embarked on a world tour together in 2014, with Adam singing the lead vocals made famous by the band's original frontman, the late Freddie Mercury.

With such big shoes to fill, Adam was worried about how his interpretation of the classic songs would come across to fans and surviving bandmembers, Brian May and Roger Taylor, themselves, but thankfully, the musicians have been incredibly supportive.

"I loved working with them," he told Billboard. "They are classy and inspiring and they've given me a lot of freedom within the music, which I'm very grateful for."

The new Queen and Adam Lambert European tour kicks off this summer (16) and Adam believes fans will be in for a bit of a surprise when they discover which tracks from the band's extensive back catalogue make it onto their setlist.

"Roger and Brian have introduced me to B-sides that I wasn't familiar with, so who knows what we'll get into this summer," he teased. "I'm sure there'll be some surprises and stuff we've never done."

In the mean time, Adam is focusing on his own music and a return to the show which made him famous, American Idol.

The singing contest is in its last ever season and while the star is grateful for the opportunity it gave him in 2009, he won't be mourning the show's finale.

"It's an end of an era, Idol will always go down in history for what it is and what it did and what it represents for people," he explained. "It came long at a time when I think we, as a country, we needed to come together and we needed to believe in something hopeful and give underdogs a chance and celebrate music and the diversity of music in our country. I think they did a great job, and it's time to pack it up."